Seat Leon - Very Weird Braking Problem

[Hockey Guy]

Hi All,

Was driving home in the snow this evening, and just as I was coming to my last turning to get into our estate I went to press the brake pedal and the strangest thing happened.

There was an awful grinding noise, and the brake pedal felt as though it was resisting the pressure from my foot, and bouncing back. The car wasn't stopping properly, so slid to the side of the road. Went to press the brake pedal again, and this time it was a bit more normal.

Managed to get the car onto our estate where I tried it again and it seemed to do the same thing intermittently, up to the point where I parked it. Had a quick look at the front wheels and they both appear ok.

This is the first time it's ever happened, and was quite scary . Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions of what it could be? I'll be dropping it off at the garage on Thursday with any luck to get it checked out as I don't want to drive it if there's any chance the brake system is knackered.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[LeonCR]

Sounds like the abs kicked in

 

[SHADY-NINJA]

its the abs mate.

 

[Bignod00]

ABS.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk

 

[andycupra]

was it slippery?
sounds like ABS activating.

DOH, - just read you said it was in the snow...
you know snow is slippery right?

 

[robdf2]

Hi All,

Was driving home in the snow this evening, and just as I was coming to my last turning to get into our estate I went to press the brake pedal and the strangest thing happened.

There was an awful grinding noise, and the brake pedal felt as though it was resisting the pressure from my foot, and bouncing back. The car wasn't stopping properly, so slid to the side of the road. Went to press the brake pedal again, and this time it was a bit more normal.

Managed to get the car onto our estate where I tried it again and it seemed to do the same thing intermittently, up to the point where I parked it. Had a quick look at the front wheels and they both appear ok.

This is the first time it's ever happened, and was quite scary . Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions of what it could be? I'll be dropping it off at the garage on Thursday with any luck to get it checked out as I don't want to drive it if there's any chance the brake system is knackered.

Thanks,
Tom

have you ever had a car with ABS before?
i suggest you take your car out again on a quiet bit of road or maybe empty car park and get used to your car before you have a big accident.

 

[bigbadjay]

Anybody remember there first abs experience? I sure do!!

 

[/dev/null]

Most modern cars are fitted with ABS these days and also if you take your test in a car fitted with ABS then you will be marked down (not sure if it's minor or major) if you don't use the ABS correctly in an emergency stop. Correct way to use ABS (under normal conditions) is not to release the pedal and allow the car to come to a stop.

 

[Jarre]

I took my test last year in my old 1.2 2009 clio, i think it has ABS, i havent driven a car without it so i dont know about breaking without it!

However, i did do an emergency stop on my test, i did push the pedal extremely hard, and like you described, the breaks grinded, crunched, and in all honesty i thought i had destroyed them

By the sounds of it though its just the ABS activating... Atleast i know now!

 

[skiddusmarkus]

ABS is totally useless in the snow, you have to change your driving style if you don't want to sail over a junction into oncoming traffic.Drive more slowly and use the gears to control your speed better.If you get the grinding noise, lift off the brake pedal and apply again with less pressure.Practice makes perfect.

 

[bil44]

Hi, I think I know what you mean. It's like the pads are slipping the disks and grinding. Happened to me when braking during a turn or harsh braking so I changed front pads and disks. It's nearly eradicated it but the only think to try now is the brake fluid

 

[bigbadjay]

Hi, I think I know what you mean. It's like the pads are slipping the disks and grinding. Happened to me when braking during a turn or harsh braking so I changed front pads and disks. It's nearly eradicated it but the only think to try now is the brake fluid

Panic buying!?!!!!

 

[Hockey Guy]

Thanks to those people who gave constructive responses! (Yes, I am aware that snow is slippery, and I do not need to take my car somewhere quiet to practise driving it as though I am an accident risk!)

When the ABS activates, does it also cause the brake pedal to fight back when you press it? As mentioned in my first post, when I tried to press the pedal, it was almost like it was bouncing back and not letting me press it all the way down.

I thought that with ABS that you could depress the brake pedal normally and the car would do the rest without trying to "kick" your foot off the pedal.

Tom

 

[LeonCR]

the ABS system works but pulsing the breaks so thats what you were feeling

 

[Bignod00]

No, ABS does make the peddle kick like a b@stard mate!

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk

 

[andycupra]

yes the pedal pushing back or shuddering is the ABS.
I said you know snow is slippery? as it was the snow that lead to a lack of grip and braking ultimately.
However it is true to say at slow speeds in snow then ABS can be unhelpful.
However its also a life saver for many people.

Although its also well known that many people in the face of an impending accident will brake hard but not steer away from the accident.

 

[vincent5525]

Just because youve driven a car with ABS before doesnt mean you know what ABS "feels like". For normal driving most people will go their entire lives without ever feeling it. I remember my ABS virginity, it was also in the snow and I thought "what the hell" just like you. And yes your brake pedal does get jiggy with it.

 

[Hockey Guy]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I am happy that this is probably what caused the "weirdness". Having never experienced ABS before, I didn't realise it would be so violent.

At least in future now I know that if it happens to just keep the pressure on the pedal and everything will be fine.

Tom

 

[vincent5525]

At least in future now I know that if it happens to just keep the pressure on the pedal and everything will be fine.

Tom

This is exactly right, you keep the pressure on and still steer the car.

 

[bil44]

Panic buying!?!!!!

Haha the disks needed changing anyway so just an excuse to spend some money